“Lobster is something best experienced female and fresh; female for the sadly overlooked, but delicious roe, which is basically lobster caviar” – Anthony Bourdain (on the female lobster)
Thanks to the help of lobstermen Rob Bertone, Dan Herb (SeaBox), and Pete Mason, I was able to experience, learn, and understand, although briefly and on a much smaller scale, the life of a lobsterman this past summer. I consulted with all of them several times and cannot thank them enough for their help, patience, and timeless wisdom. Thank you and please continue doing the great work that you do.
As you can imagine, I learned there is nothing more self-sufficient, honorable, and instinctual than baiting and catching your own food. Lobstering is also an honest day’s work that results in feeding you and your family tasty crustaceans from the sea. If you are thinking about getting a lobster license, I highly recommend it – get your recreational “ten-pot” license – it is an incredibly rewarding experience.
Lobstering: A First Person Perspective
On a clear morning at 5:45am with almost no wind and glass-like ocean conditions, we motored out of Green Harbor in a 1963 classic Boston Whaler. We had enough haddock fish heads (which serve as bait) for a few of the lobster traps, but still had to jig for fresh mackerel with sabiki rigs to fill another few traps. We arrived in about 40 feet of water and noticed the radar was chirping and giving us readings that small fish were in abundance in this area, likely Mackerel and Pollack. After a few minutes of jigging, we were successful in pulling up some “macks” and small pollack.
With mackerel and pollacks in tow, we set out on the horizon to find our bright orange buoys off of Brant Rock and Green Harbor. After about five minutes of motoring, we arrived at the first buoy. Bertone, the sternman, pulled up the trap and we had four lobsters in tow – we measured them – unfortunately one was notched (egg laying female) and one was not of legal size. We tossed two back to keep this great fishery going strong and kept two, banded their claws, and put them in a milk crate.
We searched for a bit for our other traps (and obviously bright orange buoys), which we eventually found floating off of Brant Rock. It seems that they got pushed closer to shore because of a small storm that occurred earlier in the week. No harm, no foul – we pulled up the trap and were surprised to find a few crabs, a baby sculpin (type of rockfish), and two male lobsters which were of legal size.
We finished pulling up and re-baiting the traps and each took a deep breath at how peaceful the ocean was today – least terns flying, sun shining, a slight breeze – we decided it was a good idea to head back, and all said and done, we were back to the boat ramp by 7:20am – with plenty of time to get ready for our real-life day jobs.
Later that evening I cooked the lobsters, in real sea water (which is the only way), and made lobster rolls that fed the entire family (and then some). There is a humbling feeling, when one understands the effort that went into obtaining the lobsters – that buttery bite tastes so much better and is truly fulfilling.
Unfortunately, I will be pulling up my traps this weekend for the season and will store them near my shed, so when the snow is falling on them, I can recall what a wonderful summer it was and, on those cold days when I am inside by my wood stove drinking coffee, I will raise my glass to the lobstermen who are still out there, working it in the cold and harsh weather: Pete Mason, Dan Herb, and Robert Bertone. These are the guys that work year round to get us our fresh lobster rolls on those eighty degree days in the summer.
A big thank you to all of the local lobstermen who continue to provide fresh food and employ strict conservation methods to ensure the population exists for generations to come.
Great Article, thank you.
Thank you, Rich – appreciate you taking the time to read.
Nice job on the boat you and Robbie built – looks awesome!